AFTER THE NIGHTMARE
by Hidden Gems
Summary: Sasuke wakes up in the middle of the night after a nightmare and finds comfort where he wasn't necessarily expecting to. Characters: Sasuke & Itachi.


**Disclaimer**: Naruto is the property of his creator, Kishimoto Masashi, and of various companies that publish it. We all know I'm not making any money out of this; just playing with the characters a bit.

**A/N**: I know some people might not agree with the timeline I've chosen to use, but it's a known fact that the Uchiha timeline is full of enormous plot holes, so pease don't flame me.

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Sasuke woke up with a start, his face glistening with tears he didn't know he'd shed. Had he really screamed, or was that just part of his nightmare? He couldn't tell, but he hoped he hadn't actually made any noise. The last time he had told his mother about his nightmare, his father had made it clear that it was high time he stopped having them. He had then pointed out that he would go to the academy in less than a year and really ought to do something about it. So he clapped both hands over his mouth, knowing very well that if he had actually screamed, there was nothing he could do about it now.

Wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand, he pushed the blanket away, sat up and looked around. Narrow beams of moonlight shone through the curtains, but most of the room was dark, very dark. He knew it by heart—after all, it was _his_ room—but he felt uncomfortable about not being able to see every corner clearly. He tried to stop himself from shaking, and listened intently, in case he might hear growling coming from his wardrobe again. Of course, he didn't hear anything, but that was a small consolation. The monster had probably heard him and was now keeping as still and silent as he was. Reluctantly, he lay down again and pulled the blanket all the way up to his face, only to push it back down a few seconds later because it made everything way too dark.

He let out a loud sigh. He was thirsty, but not feeling brave enough to get out of bed and go all the way to the kitchen. He usually had a glass of water by his bed, but of course, tonight he'd forgotten it. Maybe if he tried to ignore the feeling, it would eventually go away. But that didn't work at all. He felt as thirsty as if he'd been running for a while, and is heart was still beating much faster than its regular pace. After taking a few deep breaths, he made sure to keep his eyes away from the wardrobe on the other side of the room, and slowly crept to the door. But when he opened it, he found the corridor engulfed in darkness as well, and recoiled, clinging to the doorframe.

He'd never make it to the kitchen…

"Sasuke?"

He turned around when he recognised the tranquil voice of his older brother, and saw that Itachi had also opened his door and was now staring at him.

"Nii-san…"

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

Sasuke bit his bottom lip. "Nothing. I…I just wanted to get some water."

"I heard you scream a few minutes ago," Itachi pointed out with a slight frown.

Sasuke was about to reply that it wasn't true, and why would he scream anyway, but if Itachi had heard him, there was no point in trying to deny it. He looked away and let his shoulders drop. "I…I had a nightmare…"

He waited for a while, expecting Itachi to chuckle, or even worse, laugh at him, but the latter did nothing of the sort.

"What are you doing in the corridor then?" he simply asked.

"I really am thirsty. I forgot my water, but—" he looked down the corridor and swallowed hard.

Itachi stepped out of his room and quietly walked towards him. "I'll come with you."

"Nii-san…"

"I'm thirsty too. Come on."

Sasuke let him go first and made sure to keep as close as possible—but not _too_ close—as they made their way through the house, each of their footsteps making a soft thud on the wooden floors.

Since there were no curtains or blinds in the kitchen, they didn't need to turn the light on when they stepped into the room. Itachi took two glasses out of the cupboard and when he turned around again, Sasuke was stretching as far as he could, trying to reach the tap. But he was still too small and his fingers only brushed against it. That was one thing he really hated; not even being able to get water on his own. That and his father continually reminding him that he was smaller than his brother had been at the same age.

He was expecting Itachi to take the glass from him and fill it up himself, so it really took him by surprise when the latter grabbed him by the waist and lifted him so he could do it. Once back on the floor, he eagerly drank it all in one go, enjoying the soothing feeling of the cool water in his parched mouth.

"Want another one to take back to bed?" Itachi asked when he'd himself finished drinking.

Sasuke nodded and held out his glass, but Itachi shook his head and beckoned him forwards again. It was still slightly embarrassing to have to be lifted to the sink, but at least he could operate the tap himself, and he enjoyed that. He wondered if Itachi understood what it felt like, and if that was the reason why he'd let him do it twice.

He'd almost forgotten all about why he'd needed to go to the kitchen in the first place, but the feeling of uneasiness came back to him almost at once when he stopped in front of his bedroom door and peeked inside. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, but his bedroom still felt far from inviting. He held onto the glass tighter, put his other hand on the frame and swallowed hard before glancing towards Itachi's door. The latter was still standing in the corridor, as if waiting for Sasuke to make the first move. Ashamed, he looked away and took a deep breath.

He could do it; he wouldn't let his brother think he was scared.

"Sasuke," Itachi said slowly, at length, opening his own door, "why don't you grab your pillow and come with me? Give me your drink and go get it before we end up waking them up," he added, nodding towards their parents' room at the other end of the corridor.

Trying to repress a grin, Sasuke handed him the glass of water before quietly running into his room—making sure not to look at the wardrobe, of course. He ran out again and clutched the pillow tightly to his chest as he stepped into his brother's room, where he was rarely welcome these days. Itachi had moved his own pillow towards the edge of the mattress and was rearranging the blanket. Sasuke also noticed that he had put a nightlight on and placed the glass of water where he would easily be able to reach it. He couldn't help but smile.

"Don't you sleep with a toy?"

The smile promptly disappeared and Sasuke felt his cheeks flushing. "I'm nearly seven," he said, doing his best to sound outraged, "I don't sleep with a toy!"

Itachi chuckled. "You're barely six and a half, and I know for a fact that you still sleep with my old teddy bear."

This time, Sasuke knew he must have been blushing to the root of his hair.

"Go on, so that we can finally get back to sleep."

He found the bear immediately, against the wall—he must have thrown in to the side during his nightmare. For a few seconds, he considered leaving there, only to forget about it as soon as he picked it up. He didn't have a _lot_ of toys, but he still had a fair few. The bear in his hands had been bought when Itachi was a baby and was now over ten years old, but it was his favourite one. To him it was special, and even though he would never have admitted it to anyone but his mother, he knew it had to do with the fact that it had once belonged to Itachi. He didn't remember, but he knew that the latter had given it to him on the day he'd started at the academy. Sasuke—barely more than a toddler back then—had refused to let his brother go in the morning, and had only calmed down when Itachi had told him to look after the bear in his absence. He had taken it as a mission and had never let go of it since.

When he opened the door again, Itachi was in bed, lying on his back, arms folded under his pillow. "Come in. I'll leave the light on until you're asleep."

He closed the door quietly and crept under the blanket, lying on his back as well. He stared at the ceiling for a while, noticing maybe for the first time that it looked identical to the one in his own room. After a few minutes of doing so, he looked down and clutched the bear tightly to his chest, running his fingers over the soft and slightly worn-out fabric.

"Nii-san?"

"Yes?" came the soft reply.

"Do…do you think I'm a baby?"

Itachi turned his face to the side, so he could see his little brother. "Why do you ask?"

Sasuke brought the bear closer to his face and stared at the ceiling again. "Father must think I am. I'm too small; I still have nightmares; I don't like the dark; I still sleep with a toy…"

Itachi let out a sigh and briefly close his eyes. "Father seems to forget too easily that _he_ also was a small child like you, once."

Sasuke's eyes opened wider and he stared at his brother. "You mean…he might have had nightmares too?"

"Everybody does at one point."

Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off his brother's. "Did you?"

"I told you; everybody does."

"What were they about?" he asked eagerly. "Mine are about monsters hiding in the cupboard, outside my door or my window. Big scary monsters."

Itachi smiled. "Pretty much the same. But you'll eventually understand that there's nothing to be scared about; it's all in your imagination."

He remembered their mother using exactly the same kind of arguments, but somehow they seemed to make more sense when they came from Itachi. When they'd fallen silent again, he turned his eyes back to the ceiling for a while, letting Itachi's words resound repeatedly in his mind.

"Nii-san?"

Itachi's tone betrayed his slight annoyance. "Yes?"

"Why…why did you ask me to come here tonight…? Why didn't you make me go back to my room? Father would have done that."

There was a short pause.

"I knew you wouldn't easily go back to sleep if you were on your own. And you probably would have kept me up as well; you make so much noise."

That was a very Itachi-like answer, and Sasuke smiled. He had a way to start his answers in a nice, kind way, only to change the tone immediately afterwards and make it seem like he didn't care.

Still smiling, Sasuke glanced at his brother, who had closed his eyes again. He slowly shifted, rolling over on his side and facing Itachi, one arm curled over the blanket, and the other under his pillow. The bear was pressed close to his chest, its reassuring warmth slowly spreading to his own skin. He listened to the sound of Itachi's regular breathing and adjusted his own to the same slow pace.

"Nii-san?"

This time, Itachi chuckled. "Yes, Sasuke?"

"You can turn off the light now."

Itachi reopened his eyes and considered his little brother for a few seconds. When the latter nodded confidently, he stretched one arm from under his pillow and unplugged the nightlight, plunging the room back into semi-darkness.

Sasuke didn't flinch, but he did scoot a little closer.

_I don't feel scared anymore. I know Father is right and I shouldn't still think that there are monsters out there coming to get me…_

_But I also know that if there ever were, you'd protect me from them, Nii-san._

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**Author's note**: A few days after the massacre that took place several years later, Sasuke went back to his house to gather some of the belongings he wanted to take with him. He made sure to take the bear and place it at the top of the box, but it never made it to his new home. As he watched the toy burn after he'd unceremoniously dumped it on the ground, he thought his father would have been proud of the ginormous fireball he'd produced without really meaning to.

- THE END -


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